"The Oak Tree"

About 4 or 5 months ago I was on Team-ups with one of my Zone Leaders, Elder Lyons. We went to a members house for dinner and he shared a spiritual thought with them and it was a poem about an oak tree and how strong we can be as long as we endure what ever life throws at us.

"A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew"

Johnny Ray Ryder Jr

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.

Elder Matthews